Never much known for restraint, Joseph R. Biden Jr. did not hold back during a presidential primary debate in 2007 when a voter asking about gun rights in a recorded video displayed a fearsome-looking semiautomatic rifle and declared, “This is my baby.”

Mr. Biden, then a Delaware senator in a dark-horse bid for the White House, shook his head. “I tell you what, if that’s his baby, he needs help,” he said. “I think he just made an admission against self-interest. I don’t know if he’s mentally qualified to own that gun.”

The candidate’s blunt, dismissive remark cheered one side of America’s long-polarized debate about guns and alienated the other. But it overlooked the salient reality that the rifle-toting voter was able to buy it legally even under a law that theoretically banned assault weapons and was co-written by Mr. Biden.

Nothing better than slurring an American citizen carrying a weapon that was OK under Biden’s legislation

A president intent on pressing Congress to restrict access to high-powered guns could hardly find a more seasoned figure to take charge of the effort. Mr. Biden, who owns two shotguns, brings decades of experience and plenty of scar tissue from past battles with the National Rifle Association to frame recommendations that Mr. Obama wants ready by next month.

Democrats tell us that guns are the root of all evil (well, sometimes it is Bush, Palin, Israel), yet here’s Joe with 2 shotguns. It’s immaterial that Joe wants legislation that would not make the aforementioned shotguns illegal, he should lead the way and give them up. Because it isn’t the person who kills, it’s the gun, and who knows when Joe might snap and pull out that killer gun and go on a rampage? Or even just shoot someone accidentally while cleaning it. Or maybe some kid gets a hold of it. Furthermore, he should make sure all the people on his Secret Service detail do not carry guns of any type. He could then proudly display a “Gun Free Zone” sign on his front lawn. It would be very symbolic for Joe to give them up.

(Former Senator Ted Kaufman of Delaware) acknowledged that actually banning guns was difficult. As soon as one gun is outlawed, another pops up. But he argued that symbolism itself was important. “You send a message,” he said, “when you don’t do anything.”